


Split Ends

by jar_of_stars



Series: Split Ends AUs [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Gen, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2020-05-18 17:45:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19339459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jar_of_stars/pseuds/jar_of_stars
Summary: Different AUs taking place in the MCU. Some Endgame Spoliers.Summaries at the beginning of each story.AU 6: As part of the Avenger’s team, Nebula assists on a civilian patrol. She later joins Natasha in helping children left alone after the snap.





	1. Prisoner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during Endgame. 
> 
> Back in Asgard, Thor decides to speak with Loki while he has the chance but time has a way of catching up.

Thor speeds back to the dungeons, he knows that his brother at this time will not be welcoming towards him but he needs to see him to…to just see him. _Alive._ He tells himself and tries to stop thinking about when Tha-No! He cannot bear to even hear the Titan’s name in his mind…

Rocket follows him, swearing under his breath about needing to get back to their time but Thor knows his teammate will not leave without him. They pass through the dungeon until Thor abruptly stops in front of one of the cells and nearly causes Rocket to run into him. Loki is still lying on his cot, throwing and catching a cup in boredom; there are a couple of stacks of books and a chair in the cell with him.

“Why the hell are we back here for?” Rocket demands.

Thor cringes when Loki catches the cup one last time and turns his head to see them through the golden barrier of the cell.

“Oh, is he…?” Rocket asks and holds the Aether out of sight.

Thor did not plan beyond seeing his brother but this was not how he pictured it when Loki sits up on his cot to stare at them. “Loki.” He speaks to his brother and answers Rocket’s question at the same time. “It’s me, Thor.” He adds when Loki crosses his arms and scrutinizes them.

“Obviously.” Loki stares pointedly at Thor’s hand holding Mjolnir and then turns his attention to his eyes. “What happened to you? And who is that?”

Thor stills his hand before he moves it to cover his new eye and call more attention to it. “I can’t say.” He replies as Rocket gives his name. He knows that he already said too much and catches the way Loki tilts his head to the side as if to say ‘We’ll see’.

“What do you want from me Thor?” Loki complains at him.

“What?” Thor asks, thrown off by how quickly Loki dropped the subject of his current appearance. Or his brother had already figured it out.

“Don’t give me that. I have not heard anything of you since you handed me off to the Allfather. You want something from me.”

Thor feels as if the accusation physically hits him. The Thor from this time will only see Loki in his prison cell to have him use a pathway to the realm of the dark elves. He still does not know how Loki survived on Svartalfheim after being left for dead in that sandstorm.

The silence stretches and the tension weighs down on him.

“What do you want from me!?” Loki throws the cup at Thor but it falls to the floor of the cell when it hits the barrier. With an exhale of frustration, Loki sweeps his arm in the air, sending the cup to clatter out of his sight with his magic. His expression changes too quickly to a mock of a smile. “Odin must have been so proud of you when you threw me off the bridge. How long did the feast last when you got rid of the monster hidden in Asgard?”

Thor keeps himself from rising to the bait when he hears the hurt in Loki’s voice and how it clashes with the too wide smile on his face. “Loki, I wanted to see you. You are not a monster-”

“What of the tales Odin raised us on!?” Loki argues with anger dripping from every word, the motions in his pacing sends books flying across the cell to hit at the walls as his voice rises. “The foes he bragged about slaughtering in Jotunheim while claiming that it was for the peace of the nine realms. He would always tell us of his father wiping out all the dark elves on Svartalfheim and it was always a good thing. A victory! _All the monsters slayed!_ ” He turns on his heel in the middle of the cell to observe Thor’s reaction.

“Damn, what is with everyone’s fathers messing with other planets?” Rocket mutters loud enough for both brothers to hear.

“Odin is not my father. He never was.” Loki seethes and sends a scowl at Thor. “He regrets not leaving me to die where he found me. He was going to have me executed. What do you say to that?”

“He didn’t.” Thor states.

“Only on Mother’s-” Loki bristles as he cuts himself off from saying more and turns away to ignore him.

Thor watches Loki as his curiosity gets ahead of him. “You are able to use your magic. Couldn’t you have gotten out by now?”

Loki’s breath hitches and he takes a step back.

“Loki, what is it?” Thor begins to worry when Loki covers his mouth with his hand and muffles a retching sound while his other arm is wrapped around his stomach. He debates on removing the barrier when Loki’s legs lose their strength and he collapses in the cell.

 _“Get out!_ ” Loki screams and tangles his fingers in his hair. _“I know I’m in Sanctuary._ _Get out!_ _Get out!_ ”

Thor remembers the word ‘Sanctuary’ from Gamora when the Guardians first found him. She told him that was where she and Nebula first knew of Loki. His brother did not give any information regarding Asgard that was not already known and was broken down further before being sent to Midgard. Loki never mentioned anything of his time in the void and he never asked.

“He said that you would defeat Thanos.” Gamora’s words, meant to be encouraging at the time, had kept him awake through too many nights.

“Brother-” The word sounds odd after not saying it for so long.

“You are not Thor! I should have known, the Allfather sparing my life…” Loki mutters and hits a shaking fist against the floor. “Trapped this long for him to see Asgard. Show me my real prison.”

“Loki, you are in Asgard. You have truly left Sanctuary.” Thor solemnly shakes his head when Rocket moves to the control panel of the cell. As much as he desires to remove the barrier and go to Loki, he can only imagine the consequences in the timeline if he were to give in and attempt to take his brother with them.

Loki stays hunched over on the floor and they are unable to clearly hear any of the words he mumbles.

“He never sets foot in Asgard but he’s still a threat.” Thor can’t force himself to say the Titan’s name and he can’t lie to Loki and tell him that things will be any easier. “I can’t win every fight.”

“Thanos was not just a fight.” Rocket grumbles and is unaware of both Thor and Loki flinching at hearing the Titan’s name. He gives an irritated sigh when he hears what he had just said. “Well crap. We are completely messing it here. All right, I’ll just say it. Thanos won but we can fix this, if we get back to fixing it now.”

Loki shakes his head, glancing warily at them, but speaks as if stating a well-known fact. “Thor never loses.”

The pride that fills him when he hears his brother continue to believe in him is quickly replaced by burning shame. In this point of time, he will be outmatched by Kursed and will later realize he is not as prepared for war as he had often declared in arrogance. He holds his breath to stop the tears from forming. Why didn’t Loki mention the Titan earlier? He wants to find his past self to warn of the disasters yet to happen. He does not want to lose his family, his home, and his people.

“No!” Loki’s shout jolts Thor from his thoughts to see a blue fog surrounding his brother. Loki’s eyes widen with panic as he looks caught between calling them for help and thinking that they are the cause of this.

Thor instinctively moves to get rid of the barrier but the cell is now completely empty. There is no trace of Loki or any of the objects ever being there. He reminds himself to breathe and feels his heart race as he worries over how Loki was taken. Had the Titan figured their plan? Were their friends stolen from their timelines as well? He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes to calm himself, they will figure this out. He meets Rocket’s gaze with a nod and they return to their time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.
> 
> I just imagined that with Loki taking the tesseract in 2012, he would 'poof' out of other points in the timeline or inconveniently teleport away.


	2. Recordings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in 2012 the Avengers have a team meeting after the battle of New York.

Nick Fury and the Avengers watch the security videos on several monitors. They have been in this conference room for hours, discussing the battle and recordings. Around the room, Fury sees Rogers glancing at the door as if planning to walk out at any time. Stark gets up from his seat and Fury tells him that they are not finished yet. Thor admits to being stranded with them, the tesseract was to be his ride home. Barton and Romanoff compare details they find on the videos. Banner continues to stress over his current status but as long as the Avengers Initiative holds up, he won’t have to go into immediate hiding.

The security footage on one screen plays in a loop showing the lobby of Stark’s tower with SHIELD agents attempting to get the case with the tesseract from Stark. The team elaborates that the argument was over custody of the tesseract and Loki before it escaladed. In the video Stark drops to the ground and begins to convulse as the case slides across the floor to another SHIELD agent.  

Speculations that the agent was with Loki are crossed out when the agent only made to leave with the case. Others pointed out that Loki didn’t move to intercept the case and didn’t attempt to leave with the agent. Fury notes down that they will have to investigate a possible SHIELD infiltration.

Just as the unidentified agent in the video is about to leave the lobby, the Hulk hits them with the door, knocking them over and releasing the tesseract from the case when it hits the ground. People run out of the lobby and away from the Hulk who is punching the wall and roaring at them.

“He had to take the stairs.” That was the only comment given about the cause of Hulk’s anger.

The tesseract lands by Loki who picks it up and uses it without anyone taking notice of him disappearing while Thor uses Mjolnir to channel electricity to Stark’s Arc Reactor. Stark continues to question how that happened and how nothing was fried from the use of the Viking Defibrillator.

The video then shows everyone looking around the lobby only to realize that Loki and the tesseract are gone. The ‘agent’ that almost took the tesseract also manages to leave the building.

The footage on another monitor shows two Captain Americas. Rogers explains calling the team that he had location on Loki after hearing that he had gone missing and that the other Captain denied being Loki before engaging him in a fight. Their shields ricochet off each other when they are thrown and both Captains fight hand to hand. They fall from the fourteenth floor through glass and land on the first floor. The second Captain breaks out of Rogers’ choke hold and subdues him with the scepter. Rogers had to be evaluated to clear all suspicion of being compromised.

They keep the theory that the second Captain is Loki, who could be in possession of the tesseract and scepter. There are speculations of time travel, a parallel universe, or that someone cloned Rogers for the serum. When the thought that it may be a shapeshifter who made it through the portal, Fury puts a stop to the accusatory glances the team gives each other once the idea of an impostor is in their minds. There is a greater threat out there and Fury will do whatever possible to keep this team to defend their world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.
> 
> This was previously posted as a complete work but I had a few more ideas to add onto this.


	3. One Queen to Rule Them All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Thor Ragnarok)  
> Hela does not allow for the stolen Bifrost key to stop her plans.

Hela returned to the weapons vault when she realized that the Bifrost was useless to her. She descended the staircase and went directly to the tesseract. With a form of travel in her hold, she searched through the rest of the vault for anything that could be of use for her. That was when she saw Surtur’s crown and she remembered the prophecies from long ago. Why the thing was not destroyed yet was beyond her. She vowed not lose to a fire demon who had given Asgard trouble in the past as she shattered and disposed of the crown.

In the throne room, she continued to break the fake mural until it was impossible to piece it back together. Everyone lived in comfort when she was forgotten and imprisoned. She promised herself that no more will anyone else benefit from her labors without knowing that she had a hand in building Asgard into its present state of glory.

She will be the only sovereign this time and she will expand her rule beyond the nine realms. Those she killed upon her arrival on Asgard were placed into her undead army and ordered to search for the sword.  

Which realm should she reclaim next?

Vanaheim.

The tesseract glowed brighter in her hands as if anticipating being used soon.

Odin had no more need of her after Frigga had given him a son. Hela decided to take that witch’s home realm beginning with her family. With the tesseract she took Fenrir with her to claim Vanaheim for herself.

When she came back to Asgard her army brought Heimdall, the deserters, and the Bifrost key to her. She had them enter the throne room one by one to have them swear their loyalty to her. Heimdall tried to give the group hope by telling them that the princes yet lived. She will make sure the princes will not live through their next encounter.

In the end everyone on Asgard was placed in her undead army. She will not risk betrayal by giving chances to those disrespecting her right to rule. When her executioner hesitated, she took his life.

Hela regained her strength and organized her army. She sent her soldiers through the Bifrost to the other realms while giving orders and traveling between the worlds with the tesseract. Perhaps she will accomplish something Odin never did and have all of the infinity stones in her possession.

She will be Queen Hela to everyone in life and death.


	4. Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Mashup of the second Thor Movie and Doctor Strange with no regard to canon.)
> 
> From their first meeting, Stephen Strange should have known that once there is a routine, Loki would bring someone else into the sanctum.

“Doctor Strange!” Loki’s voice rang through the sanctum from the medical room. Both of them had been monitoring the Convergence before Loki left without telling him.

“Who is it this time?” Stephen let out a sigh and moved into the set routine to prepare for the patient that Loki had brought with him. He hoped it was not Stark again. When Stark messed with the magical artifacts, Stephen began sending him out through a portal to the sidewalk outside immediately after healing him.

“I found myself.” Loki answered.

“It seems like too short a journey for that.” He stated.

“Would you turn around?” Loki snapped at him.

Of course, Loki meant that he found himself literally and stood next to an unconscious and severely injured other Loki on the patient bed.

“What happened?” He asked looking between both Loki’s. “Take him back. You have no idea what this could do to the timeline.”

“The fact that reality is not currently collapsing right now, I’ll say this is not a problem we should be worrying about. Would you help me now?”

“What?” It looked like the other Loki was not breathing.

“This _me_ is close to death and I want to know what happened. I found him during the Convergence.” Loki kept his other self asleep with a spell. “I don’t think he would be very cooperative once waking up. I would like to talk to him on my own and even that might be dangerous.”

Wong arrived while they evaluated the injuries. Their patient had a wound going through him and poison in his system. He had scars and burn marks across his skin. The soles of his feet were covered with cuts and blood and his knuckles showed signs of previous damage. It was difficult to believe that he was alive.

They split the work between the three of them to stop the poison from spreading any further, removing the toxin, and healing the wounds. Stephen was too wrapped up in their work that he did not consider how Loki was doing seeing himself in this state.

Once their patient was stable, they let him rest for a couple of days, until Loki decided that he could question him and disappeared to go wherever he had found him.

Stephen thought back to when he found out that Loki had been living on Earth for a few years before he became the new Sorcerer Supreme. He brought the God of Mischief to the sanctum to question his motives and instead of answering, Loki decided to move in. Loki checked each room as if he were in a bed and breakfast before deciding on a room that was to his liking. Stephen finally received an answer that ‘There is a greater threat to prepare for’ as Loki re-arranged the furniture.

He learned that earth was a gateway to other worlds and would be the first place conquered. Soon he was housing Loki’s friends from the other realms for the year as they continued to prepare shields and ways to fight a greater army. They transported artifacts and started to work with the other sanctums.

As a side project, Loki brought in the Avengers and SHIELD agents for him to heal, just because he could. Stephen met all of the Avengers this way, except for Thor. It would have to take a lot to harm an Asgardian, he had been told, but it could also just be Loki avoiding his brother.

After the heroes recuperated, they had questions as to how they were found when they were across the country or across the world. Loki would always disappear whenever their patient regained consciousness and he was left alone to answer. He could not avoid getting missions with the Avengers after that. Thor had not stayed long enough to know that Loki was here.

* * *

When both Lokis returned to the sanctum’s medical room, they were covered in sand and argued to speak to him first.

“Where did you go?” Stephen interrupted their quarrel.

At the question, both Gods of Mischief (and he now thought how this would cause a new set of problems if both were to stay here) stared at him for a moment until the Loki he had known longer spoke first.

“Svartalfheim,” was the sullen answer, “I was right not to go to Asgard. Don’t let him use it. I need to track the Aether.” He teleported out of the room.

The other Loki stumbled towards him. “You have the time stone. I need to use it.”

“The time stone does not leave my protection.”

“Hand it over, mortal!”

Stephen created a barrier to stop Loki from getting closer. “What do you need it for?”

“To fix things!” Loki yelled and punched the barrier. “I need to go back!”

“You are in a different timeline. What you wish to fix might not have happened here.” He began to explain. “The Convergence-“

“Then I’ll go back to my timeline! I won’t have you stand in my way!” Loki appeared at his back and tried to remove the stone from him. “I will save my mother!”

The cloak helped him in getting away and he sent Loki to a further part of the room with a portal. Stephen mentally cursed the other Loki for leaving him to deal with this situation on his own. He shaped his magic into a box around Loki to stop him from attacking.

Loki hit the palms of his hands against the wall facing him. “I will not be locked away again!” There were cracks in the shield but Loki must have really had his magic drained when he could not break out. Loki yelled in pain and slumped onto the ground in exhaustion. It took Stephen a moment to realize that Loki was screaming out of grief.

“I need to see my mother.” Loki subdued to his heartache. “One last chance.”

Stephen removed the barrier once he knew that Loki was not going to fight anymore and found himself sitting beside him. His cloak settled itself around Loki’s shoulders.

“Thor left me behind.” Loki whispered as he pressed his hand against his wound. Stephen would have not heard him if they had not been sitting next to each other. His cloak moved his arm to rest over Loki’s shoulders. It seemed like the right action when Loki moved to settle himself against his side.

Loki’s shoulders began to shake. “I…I don’t want to make the same mistakes.” He tensed as his voice became rougher. “I was told of my mother’s death after her funeral.”  His grip tightened and he hid his face from Stephen. “Only a monster would kill her. Retribution didn’t make it any better.”

Stephen didn’t understand why he was being told of this and could only try to be an anchor for Loki. He thought of the first Loki he met and how he must be dealing with this news. He decided to treat this Loki as his patient in order to have himself do something. He got rid of the sand that still clung onto him. “I will have a room prepared for you and let you know when dinner is ready.”

Loki pushed away from him. “You will allow me to stay here?” The bewilderment was raw. “I attacked you.”

Strange had an idea of what Loki was capable of. It would be better to have him somewhere he could watch him than worrying what he would attempt in his grieving state. And if this Loki was set on fixing things, they could use his help too.

“The other you had no trouble settling in. And as my patient, I did not yet give the all clear for discharge. Would you prefer a bedroom or the medical room?”

“I…” Loki debated with himself and accepted the excuse. “A room of my own.”

Loki was sluggish in his pace and the cloak stayed over his shoulders to catch him if his legs gave out. Stephen gave him one of the rooms closest to them with neutral beige tones. Loki dropped heavily onto the bed and set up a ward at the doorway before he fell asleep.

Stephen left him to rest. He also had to find the first Loki before he put himself in danger tracking the Aether on his own.


	5. Sabotage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Avengers)
> 
> Loki’s arrest after the Chitauri attack goes differently as members of the Avengers begin to realize that there is more behind the invasion.

“Code Chanter.” Clint told Natasha as soon as the influence of the scepter was broken and he was brought back to consciousness.

Chanter, one of their previous targets, turned out to be taking a crime boss down from the inside. Knowing that Loki was in a similar position put their mission into a new perspective. What Natasha previously thought to be amateur mistakes made by Loki, were deliberate opportunities to be stopped. They contacted Fury with the new information and carried out their orders. Clint was able to elaborate more of Loki’s treatment under captivity from what he saw through their mind link.

They were separated while fighting the Chitauri but both made it back into Stark’s tower to where they heard was Loki’s last known location. Natasha placed the scepter away on a table while Thor kept the tesseract. She gathered with the rest of the Avengers to where the Hulk was holding Loki down on the cracked floor with one hand.

When Loki blinked a few times, he flinched at the sight of the Hulk and gasped in pain at his own sudden movement.

The Hulk looked closer and removed his hand. “Not same.”

Natasha shared a look with Clint, both thinking that the Hulk noticed the change. The other members of the team glanced between the Hulk and Loki.

Loki closed his eyes as Hulk raised his hand towards him and gave another gasp of pain when he tried to move away. Instead of getting hit as he anticipated, Loki was slowly cradled into one hand and placed onto a couch. The Hulk narrowed his eyes at him when he got a closer look, but it was not in anger. Natasha could tell that he was trying to puzzle out the change that occurred when Loki lost consciousness.

“I’ll take him back to Asgard.” Thor approached them. “He needs to face the Allfather’s judgement.”

“NO! NOT SAME!” Hulk roared at Thor before turning around to block their view of Loki.

Natasha weighed the pros and cons of having the Hulk as Loki’s bodyguard for the moment. They still needed to wait for Fury to arrive and question Loki on his mission. “Hulk what is different about Loki now?” She asked as a form of distraction before a fight could break out between him and Thor.

Hulk scowled at the scepter, where she had left it earlier. “Energy different.” He curiously poked Loki’s side with a finger.

“The scepter?” She prompted.

Loki coughed and spoke hoarsely. “Destroy scepter.”

Natasha glanced pass the Hulk to where Rogers stood near Loki.

“Your scepter?” Rogers asked.

“Not mine…” Loki cleared his throat, “corrupt magic, scrying from other side. Destroy it.”

Rogers may have also noticed something when he gave a nod and stepped back to speak to Thor. “What does scrying mean?”

Thor crossed his arms. “A branch of magic. A way to see into the future or to spy on someone at the moment.”

“Other side?” Stark continued to keep a considerable amount of space between himself and Loki as he directed his question to him. “You were being watched from the other side of the cube?”

“Yes, watched to follow their orders.”

“You cannot delay our return to Asgard.” Thor moved towards Loki but was pushed aside by a giant green hand.

“No. Not go.” The Hulk challenged Thor with a glare.

Natasha cut in. “We need answers from Loki. We should work on that while he is still here.”

Both Thor and Stark protested.

“He will not answer.”

“You already tried that.”

Loki coughed again as he tried to speak.

“Answer?” Hulk asked Loki.

“Yes.”

Natasha made a mental note that four out of six of the team agreed to hear Loki’s side. From what Thor told them, it sounded like Asgard had already made up their mind on Loki and it would be beneficial for him to cooperate with them.

Loki’s SHIELD file had additional questioning sessions and medical reports outlined by her and Clint while carried out by other agents. Thor allowed this only if he could take the results back home to his father along with the tesseract and scepter. Another file was created on someone that Loki named the Mad Titan, his subordinates, and the infinity stones. Asgard verified key statements from the notes and started tracking the movements of the Titan’s underlings.

A group of healers were sent from Asgard to check on Loki after the scepter was evaluated and was found to contain an infinity stone. Thor and Stark were more willing to hear what Loki had to say now. When asked for her assessment, Natasha felt it was her turn to make the call to give Loki a chance on their team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.
> 
> Let me know if there is an AU you are interested in and I will try to write more for it.
> 
> I hope everyone had a nice holiday break and has a happy new year!


	6. Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Post Infinity War)
> 
> As part of the Avenger’s team, Nebula assists on a civilian patrol. She later joins Natasha in helping children left alone after the snap.

Nebula goes with Natasha’s team to watch over the distribution of medical supplies arriving into town. Civilians stand in separate lines for the medical kits and medicines they need. The lines do not take too long as she follows her patrol route. She does not pass by Natasha during her last round and sets to look for her team leader.

She finds Natasha speaking to a crying girl at eye level.

“We have a place where we can take care of you and your friends.” Natasha speaks gently. “Can you tell me where your friend is? I will be able to help more if I know how he got sick.”

Nebula continues on her patrol in her want to put distance in her discomfort. She has no problem helping Natasha in the orphanage but speaking to the children for the first time always reminds her of her first encounter with Thanos. She would see herself in their place at the promise of a home and safety.

Another Avenger takes over Natasha’s patrol as she keeps the child company for the next half-hour. Once the civilians leave the area, Nebula finds Natasha with two more children. They are the first girl’s friends who got worried waiting for her.

Both Avengers are led by the two girls and boy to an apartment building. They stop at apartment 29 and one of the girls knocks on the door. “It’s me, Jenny. We found help for Marco.”

They hear the door unlock and another girl allows them into the apartment, but she steps away from them as they follow Jenny to see Marco. There are two more kids in the room with Marco who is asleep on the bed. There is no sign of an adult caring for them.

“The Avengers are going to help us.” Jenny tells them.

The other children are wary of them. The youngest ones hide behind the slightly bigger children. They all look around the room and are ready to run away at the smallest threat to them. This is not the first time Nebula and Natasha have gone to help children left alone after the snap, but convincing them that they will be safe with them was difficult at times. Nebula does not fault them for their distrust.

“How long has Marco been sick?” Natasha asks, kneeling down to get a closer look.

“He was coughing two days ago and his forehead felt hot this morning.” A boy answers while keeping both of them in his sight.

“One of our friends can help if we take Marco to see him.” Natasha replies and they see the children pass worried looks between each other. “No one will be separated. There is plenty of room and food for everyone.”

The kids agree to take a chance with them. At the orphanage, Marco is taken to their clinic station before the rest of their charges are shown to their rooms and are given the schedule they all followed. By the end of the week, Marco is able to join his friends.

They took things day by day. One morning Nebula had a group of children following her to her confusion. They said that their favorite color is blue and stuck close to her. Natasha explained that they follow her because they feel safe with her.

Natasha often reminds Nebula of Gamora in the way she carries herself and in fulfilling the wish her sister spoke of protecting children. Nebula recognizes the push and pull in needing to talk about being turned into a weapon when she sees Natasha’s eyes. By now they trust each other enough to speak about their past.

Some sleepless nights are spent thinking of different activities to keep the children busy during the day. During one of their talks Natasha confesses that she enjoys dancing. Nebula suggests that she teach a dance class when they are unable to go outside to play.

Nebula joins one of Natasha’s dance lessons when rain does not allow them to go outside. Some of the steps the children try are clumsy and some stumble but none are punished for not moving perfectly. Natasha smiles and encourages them through the song. When a toddler loses her footing, Nebula is there to catch her. She is taken by surprise when the child looks up at her with a smile and calls her big sister. She will continue to protect them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to explore how it would be like for Nebula to join the Avengers and this happened. I've been wanting to post this story for a while now.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
